In this article we investigate the transparency of language in learning place value in either a Southern African indigenous language (isiXhosa, Setswana, Oshiwambo or Emakhuwa) or a European-based language (Afrikaans, English, German or Portuguese). Since language is a key mediator in developing place value understanding, it is important to…

This paper discusses collaborative ethnographic work investigating multilingualism within education in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zambia. The paper takes a reflective perspective on how research is conducted and the role that multilingualism and collaboration can play in the research process itself. As a team of thirteen individuals, working across…

This qualitative study applies the frameworks of language socialization and social network theory to investigate how international students' construction and negotiation of their identities influence their L2 writing development. Two students (One Korean and one Motswana) at a US university, one from South Korea and one from Botswana, participated…

Technology has influenced not only our everyday lives, but our education systems and the opportunities for teacher development. The introduction of information and communications technology has presented new training platforms to respond to the needs of the workforce. While traditional institutions have greatly impacted teachers, there are now…

The study investigated whether teachers' knowledge and positive perception of listening contribute to its teaching in junior secondary schools in Botswana. Using an observation schedule, data were collected from four schools in the Gaborone, Botswana, area. The main finding of the study is that knowledge of listening does not translate into good…

This paper critiques the language practices and language-in-education policy of Botswana from a translanguaging perspective. By so doing, it revisits our commonly held perceptions about multilingualism, bilingualism and language and its boundary. We commonly perceive languages as autonomous and as having boundaries and we perceive bilingualism or…

Writing is a challenging but requisite skill at university and other life situations. At university, essay writing is generally challenging to first-year students across disciplines or faculties. This study therefore describes the writing challenges of the Faculty of Social Sciences students at the University of Botswana. To that end, this study…

The ability to read and interpret textbooks and other assigned material is a critical component of success at university level. Therefore, the aims of this study are twofold: to evaluate the reading levels of first-year students when they first enter the university to determine how adequately prepared they are for university reading. It is also to…

The paper discusses how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) could be integrated in the teaching of English Language in Botswana Junior Secondary Schools. It does so by exploring opportunities and challenges faced by teachers of English Language and the students they teach. Fifty five (55) teachers in eleven (11) Junior Secondary Schools…

The main aim of this exploratory study was to establish how Batswana teens (natives of Botswana), who predominantly spoke English in social interactions, negotiated communication transactions with non-speakers of English. The author presents her reflections in the manner of a think piece, However, she interviewed some young Batswana to help…

The ability to cite sources appropriately is an important feature of academic writing. Academic writers are expected to integrate ideas of others into their texts and take a stance towards the reported material as they develop their arguments. Despite this importance, research has shown that citation presents considerable difficulties for…

This study explored metacognitive awareness level of University of Botswana students in the Faculty of Social Sciences. It also considered the more recent research focusing on the role of metacognitive awareness in reading and how it relates to proficiency. The following questions are addressed: (1) What are the self-reported reading proficiencies…

In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on the interpersonal function of metadiscourse features in academic texts. This means that research on writing in academic contexts began to focus on the rhetorical features, such as interactional metadiscourse, that writers use to present their voice in writing. These developments in academic…

The main purpose of this review on published information on reading in Botswana schools is to seek ways of providing instruction and assessment that result in children becoming proficient readers. Botswana has made impressive progress in literacy growth since independence. However, a lot still needs to be done if literacy is to become all that it…

As the English language has become a global lingua franca today, it is not surprising that changes in attitudes and perceptions towards learning English in the international context have taken place at the same time. In this paper, I critically examine the notion of "integrative motivation" in the literature of second language (L2)…